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“A painting being painted, one or a few strokes at a time,” meaning that one can learn and progress quickly or slowly. In some cases, some can learn through a tougher challenge, while others have it easier. Either way, it is part of the process of transformation and maturation. The author uses symbolism to show how Jerry wants to be independent and not rely on his mother. She also uses imagery to describe the setting, create suspense, and create the mood of the story. In the short story, “Through the Tunnel,” by Dorris Lessing, the protagonist learns, but through a painful process. In the story, Jerry, an 11-year-old boy, is determined to swim through a tunnel he finds at the beach. He attempts to swim through the tunnel to impress some foreign boys. Although he is aware that the task is difficult, he is still determined. He went home and practiced holding his breath every day to prepare to swim through the tunnel. Eventually, Jerry gets past all the obstacles and is able to swim through the tunnel. Lessing uses symbolism, personification, and imagery to convey the theme of the story which is growing up is difficult and is sometimes a painful process.
Symbolism is a form of figurative language used to represent something indirectly in a story. In this short story, the author uses the beach as a “safe place” or haven because “that is where his mother stays during the day.” The beach symbolizes a “safe place because his mother is there and she can protect him because she can see what is going on. The rocks on the beach symbolize the pressure and danger that he feels because his mother cannot see what is going on beyond the rocks. In the story, the author also wrote about Jerry looking back to see if his mother was still there, but he sees a yellow umbrella instead. This umbrella symbolizes his mother’s protection and how far he is from it. Last but not least, the tunnel itself; the tunnel represented the “difficulty of maturing.” As Jerry was trying the swim through the tunnel, he had many obstacles to get through, but with great determination, he overcame these challenges and faced maturity.
Personification was also used in the making of this story, Lessing used personification in the lines, “He swam back to the big rock, climbed up, and dived into the blue pool among fanged and angry boulders.” Personification is used in this line to describe and help the reader imagine what the object the author is trying to describe looks like. In this case, Lessing uses it to describe the danger that Jerry is facing. By diving into the pool, regardless of the danger, he is learning to take risks and takes a step closer to what he thinks is manhood.
Imagery is another type of figurative language used in this short story. In the narrative, imagery is used to help our minds create images. It is used when the author describes the bay and the beach. It helps show that there is a distinction between these two locations. Lessing also uses imagery when she describes the big boys as “smooth dark brown” with “sleek brown heads.” The bay is also “ a small speck of yellow between a small slice of orange.” These colors are known to be associated with happiness and warmth; this may represent his childhood under his mother’s protection. “Rocks lay like discolored monsters” help us imagine deep waters with large dark rocks that look like monsters, but Lessing is using it to “convey the dangers lurking beneath the waters in the wild bay.”
In conclusion, the theme of Doris Lessing’s short story is that growing up is a difficult and sometimes painful process. The author used mainly three literary devices to develop the theme of the story and to help the readers understand. The first literary device used was symbolism; it was used to represent things indirectly. Second, was personification; personification was used to describe an object and help the reader to understand what it looks like. Lastly, is imagery; the imagery is used to help our minds create images and imagine. Lessing’s message to us is that even though we have many obstacles and major difficulties, we can always overcome them by being determined.
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